Johnny Hallyday (born Jean-Philippe Smet; 15 June 1943) is a French (French people) singer and actor. An icon in the French (French language)-speaking world since the beginning of his career, he was considered by some to have been the French Elvis Presley. His father, L�on Smet (1908-1989), was Belgian (Belgians), his mother Huguette Clerc (1920-2007) was French; the young Hallyday took his stage name from his aunts husband, American artist Lee Halliday (also a pseudonym).

Hallyday, whose music career has spanned a half-century, is one of Frances biggest stars. He has completed 100 tours, had 18 platinum albums, and sold more than 110 million records. Hallyday announced his retirement from performing on 3 December 2007 at the age of 64, after a farewell tour.